Fontana Unified scholars eager to learn about college life and the role that Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) have played in ensuring equity in education for underrepresented students, are preparing to take the trip of a lifetime when they join the District’s inaugural HBCU Campus Tour. More than 100 students have signed up to join the six-day chaperoned tour, which is scheduled for March 17-22 and will visit Georgia, Alabama, Florida and historic campuses of schools like Morehouse College, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman University and more. Fontana Unified, which is partnering with On A Mission Youth Travel to organize the tour, will cover the costs of airfare, lodging and meals.
A.B. Miller High School students will get a first look at their school’s new mascot during a pair of upcoming on-campus rallies. The school will reveal its new-look “Rebel” mascot and pass out t-shirts with the new mascot to students in attendance.
Nineteen members of Fontana Unified School District high school football teams have secured prestigious All California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) division honors, recognizing their outstanding accomplishments in what was a historic football season across the District. A.B. Miller, Jurupa Hills, Henry J. Kaiser and Summit high schools all produced multiple All CIF-SS players in their respective divisions after all four teams qualified for the CIF-SS postseason. The dual-CIF championship Jurupa Hills team had 11 members who earned All CIF-SS Division 8 awards.
Almond Elementary School is asking its scholars to “take a book and share a book” as it kicks off its new Little Free Library Program, designed to increase access to literature and promote a reading culture beyond the classroom. Almond Elementary installed a wooden box shaped like a little house in the front of the school and stocked it with library books in Nov. 2023, inviting students to borrow and return books at any time. The school’s goal is to provide Little Free Libraries throughout the Almond community by encouraging families to post little libraries on their front lawns during the 2024 spring semester.
More than 25 Fontana High School (FOHI) students flashed joyful smiles as they huddled around a fire engine and helped deliver it into the school’s Fire Technology and Emergency Services classroom, McGinnis Station 815, during a traditional push-in ceremony on Jan. 10. Members of the Fontana Rotary Club and San Bernardino County Fire Department, who teamed up to donate the fire engine to Fontana High, joined students and staff in cheers and a round of applause during the ceremony. FOHI’s Fire Technology and Emergency Services CTE students will continue to perform hands-on activities with the retired San Bernardino County fire engine throughout the school year.
FUSD Theater Program Gears Up for Second Performance of Season
Fontana Unified’s career technical education program (CTE) is continuing its theater season with a second and final production for 2023-24, the Harry Potter satire “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic” on Thursday, Feb. 1 and Friday, Feb. 2 at the historic California Theater for the Performing Arts in San Bernardino, under the guidance of A.B. Miller High School multimedia design and drama teacher Joseph Henson. The FUSD Theater Conservatory was established so that young students could discover the joys of theater and work as actors in a professional show, as well as get involved in CTE projects at an early age. The California Theater is located at 562 West 4th St., San Bernardino.
Southridge Tech Middle School seventh-grade math teacher Linh Nguyen-Carlyle draws upon her own life experiences and challenges to connect with her students, making an impact in the classroom that has earned her recognition as the California League of Educators (CLE) Region 10 Educator of the Year Runner-Up. Nguyen-Carlyle was one of 10 CLE finalists from across the Riverside, Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino counties honored at the Region 10 awards ceremony held last December at the Riverside Mariott.
Fontana Unified’s Career Technical Education (CTE) program opened its theater season with live musical productions of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” as District elementary and middle school students got the holiday season off to a spirited and nostalgic start. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is the latest production presented by Fontana Unified’s Theater Conservatory and brought together the talents of Canyon Crest Elementary School, Dorothy Grant Innovations Academy and Wayne Ruble Middle School students at the historic California Theatre for the Performing Arts in San Bernardino. For the first time, it featured an all-student cast, who once again worked with A.B. Miller High School multimedia design teacher Joseph Henson. The FUSD Theater Conservatory was established so that young students could discover the joys of theater and work as actors in a professional show, as well as get involved in CTE projects at an early age.
When Fontana High School career technical education (CTE) instructor Lamar Hanger arrived on campus at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year to lead the school’s building and construction pathway, he had a vision to transform the traditional woodshop into a modern commercial and residential construction lab while conducting his classroom as a job site. In less than three years, Hanger’s passion for teaching – and passing on his knowledge of the construction industry – has nearly tripled the number of students in FOHI’s Career Connections program, a CTE pathway in general construction. For his dedication and enthusiasm in guiding the next generation of homebuilders, Hanger has been honored by the Associated General Contractors of California (AGC) with their Construction Education Friend Award. Hanger will be presented with the award at the AGC Installation and Awards Gala on Feb. 2 in San Francisco.
FUSD TV Production Students Partner for Launch of New Program
Fontana Unified School District students and staff from Summit and A.B. Miller high schools partnered with students in Baldwin Park High School’s sports media club to share best practices and mentorship in preparation for BPHS’ launch of a news broadcast, the Braves Sports Network, on Jan. 17. Summit and A.B. Miller students shared filming and editing techniques they have learned through their schools’ career technical educational pathways in TV/film and video production.
